Automatic lid-support.



L. H. HAYS & a. w. JOHNSON.

AUTOMATIC LID SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1913.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

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SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, AND GUSTAF W. JOHNSON, 0E MACE,

IDAHO, ASSIGNOBS '20 AMERICAN GBA'PHOPHONE COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CON NECTICUT, B. CUR-PGRATION 0'5 VJEST VIRGINIA.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that we, Lnwrs H. HAYS and Gnsrzir W. JOHNSON, residents of Spokane, Washington, and Mace, Idaho, respectively, (whose post-office addresses are Spokane, Washington, and Mace, Idaho, respectively,) have invented a new and useful Automatic Lid-Support, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

Our invention is an automatic lid-support, intended primarily for a box or other receptacle provided with a hinged cover or .id and having a rigid rod or stay-bar pivoted or otherwise mounted upon the lid, and adapted to be temporarily secured at its lower end, for propping the lid open in In previous devices of this character, the lid-support has been secured in its raised position as by a thumb-screw or similar catch which requires manipulation,one hand being employed for lifting (or lowering) the lid while the other hand manipulatesthe catch or other device. And, although spring-catches have been employed for this purpose, automatically locking the -1id-support'in its raised position, nevertheless they require manipulation in order to lower the lid,-thus also requiring the employment of both hands.-

The obje'ctof our invention is to provide automatic means for locking and for releasing the lid-support, so that the lid can be raised and lowered by one hand alone.

Our invention comprises the employment of means, such as a projection on the rela' tively-movable supporting-rod or lid-support, and a relatively-stationary seat for holding the supporting-rod in its raised position, and means, such as a pivoted dog, for guiding and forcing said projection (when used) into said seat (when used), said dog or other device being operated by subsequent upward movement of the supporting-rod so as to permit said projection to ride over the dog in lowering the lid.

Although, as above stated, our invention is primarily intended for use with a box having a hinged lid or cover, yet it is applicable for use with any movable rod or supporting-member. However, for the sake Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented 24%, little,

Application filed July 36, 1913. Serial 1310. 782,626.

of clearness we shall now proceed. to describe our invention, in connection with the annexed drawings,as applied to an ordinary box with a hinged cover.

in these drawings, Figure l is a sectional view of a portion of a box or lid, giving a side view, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of'our invention, indicating the lid as held secured in its raised position. Fig. 2 is a side view, on a larger scale, of the dog and a portion of the guide-bracket, with another position of the dog indicated by brokenlines. Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of Fig. 2.

Referring to-these drawings, 1 represents the side of a box or cabinet or other re ceptacle or inclosure.

2 represents the lid or cover therefor, shown as hinged to the rear thereof at 3.

l is the supporting member or rod pivoted at 5 to a bracket 6 secured to the lid, and extending into the interior of the box, adjacent the sidewall l. A relatively-station ary guide for the movable supporting-rod is secured to the side of the box; and preferably consists of a bracket which comprises the vertical plate secured, as at its lower end, to the inner face of the wall 1 and having the horizontal plate 8 at its top, where it may be secured'upon the upper edge of the wall 1; and this bracket is preferably 10 when drawn upward by the lifting of the lid 2. i The effective length of the support- 1ng-rod 4-that is, the distance between its pivot 5 and its projection 13, -is such that when the lid has been raised to the desired extent, the projection 13 has just engaged the flange 16 and is ready to be dropped back into its seat 11.

The dog 1% isa plate, suitably pivoted as raising of lid 2 draws the rod 4 upwardly,

through the guide-groove 9, until the projection 13 impinges upon and rides over the cam 10, which causes the projection to engage the under side of flange 16 and enter the reentrant angle formed by nose 17,-the projection abutting against the forward face of the nose. Thereupon, the parts become locked against further upward movement,

and the projection 13 can only drop into the seat 11,-the rod and the lid being thus securely held in raised position. Further lifting of the lid, however, carries the projection 13 behind the rear face of nose 17 (tilting the dog out of the Way, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2) so that the projection 13 can clear the dog altogether, the latter then dropping back to its normal position, with its deflecting-flange 16 interposed to prevent the projection 13 again entering the seat ll-on its downward course; and consequently the lid can now be freely lowered and the box closed by one hand alone. In short, all that has to be done is to raise the lid as far as it will go, whereupon the projection drops back, by gravity, into its seat 13, and the lid is automatically held securely propped open; thereafter, all that. is tobe done is to first raise the lid slightly I (whereupon the dog tilts by gravity, so that its flange 16 automatically cuts off access-to the seat 13 and then lower the lid. If desired there may be a pair'of such automatic supporting-means, one'on each side of the box or receptacle.

We have thus described in full detail a preferred form of our invention, for the sake of clearne'ss, since our invention is not limited to the precise construction and arrangement above set forth.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 1. An' automatic lid-support, comprising a rod adapted to be secured to the lid and having a projection, a relatively-stationary guide for said rod having a cam and a seat for said projection, and a pivoted dog lo cated adjacent said seat and extending above said seat and into the path of said projection.

2. An automatic lid-support, comprising a vertically movable supporting member,

means for supporting the same in its raised but only position, a pivoted dog having a flange and nose nterposed in the upward path of said member and blocking it against further upward movement beyond its supported position, said dog being defiectable by a succeeding upward movement of said member so as to permit the latter to pass by said ddg and then be lowered.

.. 3. An automatic lid-support, comprising a rod having a projection, a stationary. seat for said projection, and a pivoted dog extending normally in the path of said projection and normally preventing it from passin upwardly beyond said seat, but 'tiltable by succeeding upward movement of said projection after first lowering it slightly, so as to permit the latter to pass beyond said dog.

4.' An automatic support for the hinged lid of a box or the like, comprising a prop depending from a pivot on the lid and having a projection, a stationary guide for said prop comprising a seat for said projection, and suitable means for preventing said projection being drawn completely through said guide without first being lowered to rest in said seat and thereby support said lid in raised position. v

5. An automatic lid-support, comprising a ri id supporting-member, a stationary" jection, means forsupporting the same in its raised position, said -means consisting of a stationary guide for said upwardlymovlng member having a tortuous passage forsaid projection, and means to prevent its passage through the same without first seating it in a reentrant angle of said passage and thereby supporting the lid.

An automatic support for the hinged lid or cover of a box or he like, compris- .ing a vertically-movable supporting-member depending from the lid and having a projection, and a guide therefor carried by said box and having a substantially N- shaped passageway for said projection, the parts being so arranged that said projection can be passed completely through said passageway only by lowering it slightly while in its intermediate position within said passage and thereby supporting it in a seat in said N-shaped passage ready to be passed upward completely subsequently throu h the same.

8. automatic support for a cover or lid of a honor the like, consisting of the combination of a rigid prop depending fron specification in the presence of two subscribsaid lid, a stationary support upon said box ing Witnesses.

forvengaging said prop and holding the lid 7 LE WIS H. HAYS.

in raised position when the latter has been GUSTAF W. JOHNSON. 5 opened and then slightly lowered, and Witnesses for Hays:

means positioned to be moved by further Geo. D, DRYER,

lifting of said lid and preventing engage- HAROLD HOOKER. ment between the parts aforesaid so as to Witnesses for Johnson: permit free lowering of said lid. E. DANIELsoN,

10 In testimony whereof we have signed this J. B. OSTRANDER. 

